School of the Gifted
by nikiallen0119
Summary: In a small and nearly insignificant high-class town called Shaneton, a young boy named Josiah Perl is sent by his parents to a boarding school for advanced children. His parents claim that the experience is for his future, but compelled by fear and confusion during his time at the school, along with a strict and terrifying teacher named Baldi, Josiah believes otherwise.
1. Prologue

I watched. I watched the computer screen with intense thought and care. The room was lit with the light of the ceiling fan in my son's bedroom. He is only ten, yet his face lit up with the newly downloaded video game he couldn't wait to show me. And here we are. Father and son. The son enjoying the suspense of a slightly horrifying game, leaving the father to wonder about the purpose of it.

"Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning". It sounds so simple. So innocent and cheesy, with little to no storyline whatsoever. Yet the more I observed, the more I came to realize and really remember the memories I wished to forget.

This game. A replica of a story that was kept from the world, confined within a little town that was once my home as a child. If I had the heart, I would tell my son to delete the game immediately. So many people are seeing this outlandish game as merely a game. But it was a true story, and it happened to me. Although, the game itself makes it appear much different than how I know it went.

I sat on my son's bed and reclined, closing my eyes and remembering. All of it; every detail. This is my story...


	2. Chapter 1: Let's Begin

My story really starts when I was about eleven years old. It was the year 1994. I lived with my parents in a very small town called Shaneton. Never heard of it? Well, I'm not surprised. You see, this town is a little world of its own. It's very high-class. People live well and in harmony. We have our own order, our own laws and politics. We're separate from the rest of the world. With only a population of over 1,300, and the fact that we convinced the world governments to keep quiet about us, it's no wonder we were never discovered.

My father was the Mayor of Shaneton. He created all the laws, ran every political debate and enforced each thing that took place in the town. Since I was the Mayor's son, it meant that I lived a very good life. I got anything I wanted, and never understood the meaning of "need". Even my own mother thought the exact same way. Indeed, we were spoiled. I attended school like every other kid in the town, however. But I was the most popular. Me. Josiah Perl. I had all the friends, all the best grades, and every teacher was quite fond of me. My life was perfect.

I remember when all that changed. I was skipping home from a day at the park one Sunday evening. My Collie dog, Travis, ran by my side, wagging his tail and panting with his pink saggy tongue. I entered our four story home. It was large enough to be a mansion. Even larger than life at times, if my imagination was big enough. When I knocked, our butler, Percy, was waiting for me. He smiled and welcomed me in. Dinner was sitting on the table and my parents were waiting. Percy led Travis away into his kennel, while I sat down to eat with my parents. A roast had been prepared, and my mouth watered at the savory aromas of the juicy meat and cooked vegetables.

"Did you have a nice time at the park, honey?" My mother asked me as we began eating.

I nodded, taking a big bite of roast. I chewed, swallowed, and then replied, "Mom, I beat all my friends in basketball while we were there!"

She laughed, "I'm sure you did! You're the best player on your team."

"How many boys did you have playing with you?" My father wondered.

I took a sip of fruit punch and then began listing out names, "Steve, Michael, John, Riley, James, Tucker, Robbie, Tom, and Chad."

"That's a nice group of boys!" My mother exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know!" I agreed, "But it was great. We want to do it again after school. Tomorrow's the first day of seventh grade, so there shouldn't be a ton of work." I continued eating, not even noticing the silence that had begun to take over the dining room.

"About that..." My father finally said, grabbing my attention long enough for him to continue, "You won't be going to that school tomorrow."

"Huh?!" I asked, dropping my fork on my plate with a loud crash.

"Josiah, we've always talked so highly of you. To yourself and everyone around us. Your mother and I have been discussing this for a very long time now, and we believe that it is finally the time to send you to the School of the Gifted."

My breath caught in my throat at that. The School of the Gifted was a boarding school at the very edge of town. Very few kids are picked to attend there, and only the smartest are chosen. It is an honor to go, and it used to be my dream when I was very small, but now, I objected.

"But dad, all my friends are in the normal school!" I burst out, completely taking my parents off guard, "Maybe I wanted to go the School of the Gifted before, but now I don't. It would be like starting over, and I would hardly ever see you guys!"

"Sweetheart, it's for your own good." My mother coaxed patiently, "Think of all the countless opportunities it would provide you with. And what an honor it would be just to attend!"

"We've already made arrangements." My father added in sternly, "You will have the best room, curriculum and treatment. I cannot decline what has been set in place at this point in time. It is our decision, and you will go!"

I knew it was pointless arguing with my parents. Even though I always got my way in the past, it was partially my parents' way too. It hurt to see that they would not budge. I went all through the night, crying and begging for them not to send me away. It didn't work. They only said the same words over and over. I had to go. For this entire school year, I would leave everything I knew and loved behind, including my dog, Travis.


	3. Chapter 2: All Aboard

From the moment I heard the news to the minute I was actually leaving for the School of the Gifted, it felt like a single heartbeat. I left the next day on a rainy Monday, biting back tears. I was told I would get over it, and at the time, I believed I would. But it was unexpected, and I could hardly process it. My parents were sending me away.

So there I was, outside in front of our house by the road, knelt down with my arms around Travis. It was so hard to say goodbye for nearly an entire year. I cried. Honestly I did. School used to be fun. I was looking forward to my first day of seventh grade. Now, I wished it had never come. I heard the tires of the taxi on the wet pavement as it pulled up. I could only squeeze my eyes shut.

"Josiah, I simply must take Travis now." Percy inquired from behind me. I just ignored him. He heaved a sigh and knelt down in front of me. He continued, "I will make sure he is taken care of. We will all be waiting for you the minute you come back home."

I finally looked up, seeing the sad smile Percy wore. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and sometimes, I thought of him as such. I let go of Travis to wrap my arms around Percy.

"I'll miss you so much..." I cried, out of the thought of loneliness and the fear of the unknown.

"As will I." Percy replied, his voice shaky. He patted me on the back, telling me that it was time to go. Wiping my tears away and standing up straight, I said goodbye to my parents and then hopped into the taxi with my brown leather suitcase. I had to at least attempt to act like grown man. I thought that maybe it would help some. At least it was worth a try.

The school came in sight after a bit of driving. I didn't pay attention to how long it took. My mind was too distant. What snapped me back to reality was being dragged out of the taxi and left in the rain alone. I gripped the handle of my suitcase like a lifeline. It took all the courage within me to walk through the iron gate in front of the large, brick school. It wouldn't have been scary, if not for the dark, thunderous clouds that covered the sky.

I walked up the stone steps to the metal doors, finding that they were unlocked. I stepped inside, soaking wet from the rain. The school was quiet and lit up. It smelled of chlorine and wax. The janitor had to have cleaned up recently. I could tell by the sights and smells. And now, I was dripping all on their floor. I felt embarrassed at that.

I turned my head right and then left, observing what I could. When my head turned straight again, there a tall figure stood, nearly starling me out of my boots.

"H-Hello..." I stammered, hoping to break the awkward silence. My grip on the suitcase tightened even more.

"You must be Josiah Perl." The tall figure replied in a strange, almost pinchy voice. He was a man of at least six and a half feet, with a deadpan stare that made my blood run cold. He was bald with barely visible eyebrows and a large mouth. Maybe I was over exaggerating, but I didn't like what I saw. "My name is Professor Baldi." He continued, "I will be your teacher during your stay. Welcome to my schoolhouse. Please, allow me to show you to your room." A smile etched on his face. It looked everything but real.

I followed Baldi down the white halls of the schoolhouse. I still didn't see any other students. I could only assume they were in their rooms. I was taken to mine and told that classes would begin in half an hour, then commanded to be punctual and obedient. Baldi left me to unpack and get situated until the learning took place. After unpacking my suitcase and observing the room, which was also white with one window, a bed and dresser, I took a deep breath. This was really happening. I was a student at the School of the Gifted. Walking over to the wall closet, I found a fresh black suit and blue checkered tie that was my school uniform. I put it on, looking at myself in the full length mirror beside my bed and smiling. Perhaps the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed. Maybe I would learn and grow to love the school and the people in it. "Maybes" were always in my head. They helped me get through moments I didn't exactly want to live through.

When the clock struck 9:00 AM, I was sure to immediately leave my room. A-1 was the home room I would start in, and that would begin my day. As soon as I walked in, I noticed at least nine students between the ages of six and sixteen. Four girls and five boys. These would be my classmates for the entire year. I took my seat at the desk with my name on it. I was in the front row, just like how it was back at my other school. That made me happy.

"Good morning, class." Baldi began, waving a ruler, "My name is Professor Baldi. Welcome to the School of the Gifted. Because you're here, that means you're smart! So, let's begin with a bit of maaaaath." He was odd in his mannerisms and the way he talked. Just by the way he said it, I could tell he was obsessed over math. The subject was alright. Not my favorite, but I lived with it. Baldi passed out notebooks to each of us students. He even gave one to a young girl that sat all by herself at a desk that was shoved in a corner. I looked away, pointing my attention at the notebook.

"Alright, I want everyone to complete the first three pages of the notebook and turn them in for grading." Baldi commanded and we all obeyed.

I looked at the first problem and immediately grew confused. 5+3. So simple. Too simple! Was he starting the year off that easy? I didn't understand. I wrote down the answer and moved on. 7+4. I jotted down the answer with furrowed brows and sped through the rest. The entire class completed all sixty problems within five minutes. It made Baldi quite proud, but I was disappointed. What would this teach us? I could see the confused looks on the rest of the students' faces. Each one of us rose our hands to ask Baldi, yet he didn't call on a single one of us. We could only move on with our math lesson and pray our teacher was mentally sane.


	4. Chapter 3: Girl with the Jump Rope

As the hours of the school day passed, my hope began to fade away. Each hour, Baldi was our teacher, and for those hours, math was every subject. There was no spelling, no English, no history... I just didn't understand the logic behind any of it. Even the scheduling of the school itself was weird, since we had only one hour of class time left after lunch break.

Ah yes, lunch break. That was the time I greatly looked forward to, and when it arrived, I smiled. Each one of us ten students headed off for the cafeteria. It was run normally, but the people behind the counters serving food were boring and barely responsive. I took a seat at a table, setting down my tray filled with fruit and macaroni and cheese, immediately digging into the meal, despite the queasy feeling I had embedded in my stomach. No one sat at my table. In fact, no one sat with each other. We were all unsure and introverted.

Looking ahead of myself while eating, I spotted the young girl that was at her desk in the corner of the classroom. She looked about my age, maybe a bit younger. Her fingers traced along the white wall of the cafeteria, and her eyes weren't looking where she was walking. They looked almost... lifeless. When she got closer to me, I could see that the colors of her irises were a paled gray, yet I could tell they had once been a beautiful emerald green. Her red dress swayed as she walked, along with her shoulder-length dark brown hair. In the hand that wasn't tracing the wall, she held onto a jump rope like a prized possession. She intrigued me, so I called to her.

"Hey!" I nearly shouted, hoping to get her attention. She stopped in her tracks and turned her head in my direction, although her eyes didn't look at me. She walked over to where I was sitting, holding her hands out in front of her as if the room was dark. It was then that I realized she was blind.

"Do you need help sitting down?" I asked her, watching as she felt for the bench.

"No, I got it." She replied meekly, finally sitting on the opposite side of the long table so we were facing each other.

"How come you haven't gotten any lunch?" I asked her, now noticing that she hadn't eaten anything. She bit her lip and then replied,

"I couldn't see what they had, and I was too embarrassed to ask..."

I frowned, trying to push back the other lingering questions. "How long have you been blind?" I accidentally let the question slip out, and I immediately began to regret it.

"Five years." The girl replied, beginning to trace her jump rope with her fingers almost in comfort, "I got really sick and then I lost my sight. My mommy said I could never get it back."

"I'm sorry..." I mumbled, hating myself for making the introductions so down and awkward.

"It's okay!" The girl responded in a cheery tone that surprised me, "I've gotten used to getting around places. This school is new, so I'm a bit slow around here, but I'll learn it fast. That's what we're here for! I'm Evelyn, by the way."

I smiled at her positive attitude and introduced myself, "My name's Josiah." We were silent for a moment as I looked down at my untouched bowl of fruit. I handed it over to her, "Here, you should eat this so you have strength to make it through the rest of class."

Evelyn smiled, not willing to object. She simply began to eat while we talked and formed a new friendship.

After everyone had finished their lunch, we were all allowed to go outside on the playground for fifteen minutes. The rain had thankfully cleared up and the sun was shining. Even a few birds chirped from the treetops. I told Evelyn that I would help her find an open patch where she could play with her jump rope. She held onto my right arm as I led her outside, and a smile made its way on her face as the sun beamed on her pale skin.

"Jump rope is the first outdoor game I learned to play while blind." She told me once we found the perfect spot, "That's why I love it so much." She began to jump the rope and I watched her. She was very good at it, and it amazed me.

After watching her jump for a good solid three minutes, she stopped and asked after taking a few deep breaths, "Would you like to try?"

"Umm... sure...?" I accepted, and with glee, she handed the rope to me, and I began to count my jumps out loud. I kept going till I was out of breath, making it to forty-five jumps.

"That was wonderful!" Evelyn exclaimed, clapping her hands as I handed her the rope.

Just as we were about to continue our game, I watched as a sixteen year old boy purposely bumped into Evelyn.

"Watch it!" The rather large boy snarled at her, taking her by surprise.

"Lay off, Brandon!" A dark skinned fifteen year old girl shouted from the playground as she marched up to where us three were standing, "Don't be such a bully!"

"Who asked you, Lacy?" Brandon snapped in her face, making her cross her arms and raise an eyebrow.

"Unless you wanna keep all your teeth and _not_ get two black eyes, I suggest you walk away." Lacy muttered under her breath, making Brandon growl and stomp off.

"Don't mind him." Lacy told Evelyn and I, "Brandon's been my neighbor since we were little. I know how to handle him. Just try not to get in his way." And with that, she walked off.

"Are you alright?" I asked Evelyn, who was looking at the ground in silence. She nodded her head. "Hey," I soothed, "it's alright. Don't let bullies get to you. We can continue playing if you want."

She nodded, lifting her head and smiling. We played jump rope through the rest of lunch break, and then went inside for the last hour. Having a new friend already made the school so much better than it was before.


	5. Chapter 4: Something New

The final hour brought along dread and expectations when I knew it was starting. The final class room came into view, and us students entered, just waiting for Baldi to begin another boring math lesson. To our utter surprise, Baldi was nowhere to be found. The only person sitting at the desk was a young woman, appearing to be the teacher. She smiled when she noticed us, and commanded that we all take our seats. I'll admit, I was very relieved to have this new teacher for the final hour.

Adjusting her glasses, the teacher began to speak in a friendly manner with her light, British accent I was amazed to learn she naturally possessed, "Good afternoon, class! My name is Renee Austin, but you all can just call me Miss Austin. I will be your teacher for the last hour class time. Here, we can catch a bit of the subjects that Professor Baldi doesn't focus on, and even take the time to all get to know each other."

I let out a sigh of relief. Miss Austin would be the highlight of our day. Despite the aura of relief in the room, everyone was still dead silent. It took Miss Austin by surprise.

"Alright then, um..." She began in thought, throwing her hands to her sides, "How about we play a little ice-breaker game?"

"A game?" Brandon asked out loud, almost in disbelief but it sounded mocking.

"You heard right!" Miss Austin confirmed, picking up a glass jar that was sitting on her desk. In it were little folded pieces of paper. She then explained the purpose, "These pieces of paper each have a number on them. You will pull out a number, and whoever else has that same number as you, both of you are to introduce yourselves to each other, talk for a few minutes, and then present three facts about the person to the class."

"That sounds fun!" A little girl, who looked about six or seven, and was the youngest student in the school, piped up from where she was sitting. It made Miss Austin chuckle.

The game began. I picked out the number five. Another boy happened to have that number, yet I was almost too nervous to approach him. He looked about fifteen, and wore almost no emotion his face. Black eyeliner lined his eyelids, matching with his raven black hair and clothes. He was a complete goth. I eventually approached him and said,

"Um... heyyy..."

"Hi." The boy said back to me, nodding his head slightly.

"I'm Josiah." I told him, trying think of something else, "What's your name?"

"Clayton." He replied, "Let's just get this over with. I love the color black, Batman is my favorite superhero, and I love rock music. What about you?"

I thought for a moment about the three facts I wanted to give him, "Uh... I have a dog named Travis, my dad is the mayor of Shaneton, and I enjoy country music."

Clayton just scoffed and turned away. He was a hard one to read.

By the time Miss Austin told us all to introduce our partners and their three facts to the class, I was beginning to feel uncomfortable again. I didn't really have a reason. Something just felt off. Of course, Clayton and I were picked to go first. Then Brandon with the little girl, whose name was Alyssa, two kids who happened to be brother and sister twins named Alex and Ava, Lacy had a silent, unspeaking oriental boy named Cho, and Evelyn had a kind young boy named Sammy. I finally knew the names of everyone in the room. I observed them with curiosity. The twins, Alex and Ava, who appeared to be at least fourteen, didn't look like twins at all. Maybe they had the same nose, but other than that, it was very hard to tell, especially since Ava had stunning red hair and Alex had a pale blonde, almost white color to his. Seemingly thirteen year old Cho was stiff as stone, and whether he could really speak or not, he didn't reveal either. He suppressed everything beneath an emotional mask, and it made us all wonder what possible secrets he could be hiding. I looked over at Evelyn, and I was glad that Sammy, who looked about twelve, was there to help her out. Deep down, I was hoping that Evelyn and I could have gotten the same number, but it didn't matter now. All that mattered was that for this hour, Baldi was not our teacher and math was not the subject.

When we finished the game, we moved on to an actual school subject. History. Never before had history been so sweet. Plus, I was very good at it. I could tell that my wit surprised Miss Austin, and for the record, surprising teachers was something any student dreamed of doing. We only touched base on the subject however, moving on to English, spelling, and then reading. It was surprisingly enjoyable, and us students decided that the last hour would always be the best hour. Being dismissed to leave, we all made our way out. I was, however, asked by Miss Austin to stay for a couple minutes.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked her, trying not to seem nervous. She chuckled and shook her head.

"No." She replied, "I wanted to say that I was amazed by how much you knew. I asked some hard questions."

"I've always loved learning." I told her, "Even when the subjects are boring."

"Yes, I was the same way when I was your age. I do hope that Professor Baldi isn't making your stay unenjoyable. He always has been one to teach math and only math."

I shrugged, "It's annoying sometimes, no offense. But it worries me cause he doesn't explain why. Do you have any idea?"

"That I cannot say. Some people are just... passionate about things. But I encourage you to keep your chin up. It's only the first day, you'll learn to adjust!"

I nodded, turning to walk away and head back to my room. I stopped myself right at the door to mutter, "Sometimes I wish I had the answers to everything."

Miss Austin gave me a sympathetic smile, "Don't we all, luv?"


	6. Chapter 5: The Pool Room

I remember when the school hours ended and the after hours began. We were allowed to roam the school, hangout in the cafeteria, and socialize with fellow students in our rooms. I walked through the halls with Evelyn, and we discussed home. I already missed mine, along with my parents, Percy and Travis. Despite Evelyn feeling the same way, she kept herself in high spirits, and it amazed me.

As we meandered through the halls further, we ran into the school's janitor, whose name was Jared. He had a gruff voice and seemed rough around the edges, but he was friendly. Both Evelyn and I immediately took a liking to him.

We ended up running into the rest of the students, who were looking for something to do. Lacy offered for Evelyn and I to join them, so we did. Clayton suggested that we explore the sections of the school none of us had seen yet, so we walked down new hallways, eventually coming across a set of two locked doors. Ava was the first to peer through the glass on them. Her mouth went agape as she exclaimed,

"It's a pool room!"

The rest of us crowded around to take a look, and sure enough, there was a pool room in the school. It was large and the smell of chlorine seeped through the closed doors.

"Can we go in?" Little Alyssa's high-pitched voice rose above our murmurs. Alex jiggled the door nobs. He shook his head,

"It's locked."

Coming up behind us with a nonexistent expression and no words to say, Baldi pushed through our little crowd, unlocking the doors and letting us in. We were then shown a locker for each of us with a bathing suit that was our size. After changing in the bathrooms, we were then ready swim.

"We have no lifeguard on duty." Baldi told us as he turned to leave, "Just warning you. There's two hours left till the pool is closed." We were fine with that. Two hours was plenty of time.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Lacy shouted just before she cannonballed straight into the deep end of the pool, which was nine feet. Perfect for diving.

"Josiah..." Evelyn mumbled as the other students began splashing into the water, "I haven't gone swimming since I was blind. I'm... scared to."

I grabbed her hand, "Don't be nervous. C'mon, I'll keep holding onto your hand while we're in the water, and we'll stay in the shallow side. You'll be alright!"

Evelyn reluctantly agreed, and she followed me into the pool. The strong smell of chlorine and the sloshing of the cool water was calming to me, and as the water made contact with our skin, Evelyn let out a small giggle.

"I love the sensation of H2O in the evening..." Sammy breathed out as he gave Alyssa a piggyback ride in the water.

"Nerd alert!" Brandon shouted, making Lacy roll her eyes.

"I enjoy the concept of attaining knowledge, thank you very much." Sammy retorted, "I intend to be a scientist one day."

"Pfft, a water scientist?" Clayton teased, but his comment didn't seem to phase Sammy all that much.

"So, whaddya guys think of this school and the teachers?" Alex asked, hoping to start an actual conversation.

"It's different than what I expected." Evelyn admitted, still holding tightly onto my hand.

"Baldi scares me!" Alyssa cried, rubbing access water out of her eyes, after she had fallen off of Sammy's back.

Ava cocked her head a little, "I just don't understand what we're really supposed to learn here. I mean, I know it's the first day, but still. Miss Austin is nice, though!"

I nodded, "Yeah, she's great. She'll make this place enjoyable."

I looked over to see Cho sitting alone on the side of the pool just watching us. By the look on his face, I couldn't tell if he knew he was missing out or wanted to stay far away from us as possible. I was compelled to approach him, but something inside told me otherwise, so I didn't.

Our swimming continued as we all began turning our small talk into full-out conversations. It was then that we realized we would be able to bear each other through the year, and even become good friends. The education part with Baldi was a bore. That we could agree on. Other than that, we believed that the school wouldn't be so bad. For the first few weeks, at least. Things were about to change...


	7. Chapter 6: Feeling Fear

The weeks went by. Three weeks to be exact. Us students adjusted to the best of our abilities, despite having our insecurities. School did indeed grow to become more challenging. Especially the math, which I was pleased to finally witness. Evelyn and I became inseparable during this time. I was friends with all the other students in the school, (including Brandon, when he didn't swipe my chocolate during lunch), but Evelyn was my favorite. We skipped rope every recess, singing our favorite songs as we did so. We sang "Down By the Bay" the most. Sometimes we would sing it through the halls after classes, and whenever Jared the janitor heard us come by while he was sweeping, he would give us both a quarter to spend on the vending machines.

The Thursday during our third week sticks in my mind like glue. I remember it so well. We had half an hour till lunch, and Baldi was passing out yet another math lesson. We were all growing sick and tired of math, but we couldn't complain. I threw a look over at Evelyn, who was immediately running her fingers over her braille notebook. I could see her face twist into intense thinking as she slowly wrote out the answers the best she could. Baldi gave me my notebook last, and I looked down at it. My pencil was sharpened, I had my eraser at hand, and I was more than ready to get it over with. But when the problems met my eyes, I was entirely confused. The numbers were jumbled, scribbled and smeared. I couldn't see what the problem asked me to do. There was no way I could answer it! Looking around at everyone else, they appeared to be doing fine. I bit my lower lip in intense thought and worry.

"Josiah." Baldi said my name out loud, startling everyone in the classroom, "I would appreciate it if your distracted state ceased. Pay attention to your math."

"I-I, um..." I stammered, trying to get the words out and explain to him, "I-I can't answer these problems. I d-don't understand them."

Baldi raised an eyebrow, walking over to my desk. He looked down at my notebook, observing the problems as if there was nothing wrong with them. "The numbers are clear as day." He told me, stifling a scoff.

"These aren't numbers!" I told him, raising my voice louder than I wanted to, "I can't understand this!"

His body stiffened at my response. He narrowed his eyes at me. "Get up and stand in front of my desk." He commanded in a low voice. I swallowed hard, immediately obeying him.

I stood in front of the desk, watching as Baldi pulled out a ruler from the drawer.

"Give me your hand." He told me. I held it out, watching as he lifted the ruler high up, lowering it quickly on my palm with a loud _smack_! I clenched my jaw as he repeated the action, trying to keep myself from showing tears. I couldn't admit that I was in pain. It stung almost unbearably as he hit my hand over and over. My hand twitched, wanting to clench into a fist. Baldi wouldn't let me go.

"Stop it!" Evelyn shrieked, standing up as she heard what was happening. We all turned to see tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. "You're hurting him!" She cried.

Baldi growled, marching up to her. He grabbed her by the forearm, roughly dragging her away from her desk. "To the Principal's office with you." He muttered. I was enraged by the sight. I wanted to run after Baldi, but he closed the door and locked it, keeping us all in. I took my seat and slammed the desk once with my fists. My pride was hurt, and now, so was my closest friend. When Baldi finally returned, he continued on with the class as if nothing had happened. Never before had I felt so angry and afraid.

The final hour was silent. Even with Miss Austin. She seemed oddly sad, as if she knew what had happened. The whole school had a strange vibe that bothered us all. Evelyn didn't return for the rest of class time. I was beyond worried about her. My chest felt tight. I could see the fear on everyone else's faces. We all shared similar thoughts.

"I don't feel safe anymore..." Ava said to all of us as we stood in the halls after class time.

"What if Baldi hits me next?" Alyssa whimpered, hugging Alex, who comforted her.

"This is messed up." Lacy added, "That's all I can say about this. Baldi has no right!" I nodded, frowning and pointing my gaze down to the floor. "You alright, Sport?" Lacy wondered. The nickname she gave me brought a small smile to my face.

"I'll be alright." I told her, "I'm just worried about Evelyn."

"She'll be fine." Clayton stated, shrugging off the emotion. Cho stood near him, silent as ever.

"Will she, though?" I asked, "She's sensitive. I've never met the Principal, so I don't know if he's mean or bearable."

"Let's not expect the worst possible outcome." Sammy said, holding his hands out in front of him, attempting to calm us down, "Looking towards our future is the best thing we can do."

"Not with Baldi hurting and scaring us!" Alex whisper yelled, "He honestly does scare me. I don't like him at all..."

"And my mom _always_ said that school was good for you." Brandon huffed, "Whatever. It's all a bunch of stupid crap!"

The sound of sobbing met all of our ears, making us turn in the direction it was coming from. Evelyn turned a corner, meeting up with us. Her face was read and streaked with tears. She ran into my arms, sobbing and telling me how mean and scary the principal was. I frowned, holding her close.

"I wanna go home." She sobbed into my shoulder, "I just wanna go home..."


	8. Chapter 7: Modifications

The changes began happening slowly after that. One by one, we noticed them. What happened to me in math kept on happening, and to other people as well. When I took up the courage to go running, Baldi chased after me, beating me before I went off to the Principal's office. I hated the Principal. He was scary, strict, and talked down to me as if I wasn't important. Us students grew to hate this school. Not even Miss Austin could help us with that. Three more weeks passed since that third week, and the horrifying events happened nearly every day. To all of us.

During the Tuesday of our sixth week in the school, we all hung out in my room, since it was the biggest. It was thankfully the after hours. Everyone brought things to do. Thunder crashed outside and rain pelted on the window panes. It was a gloomy evening.

"How much worse can this get?" Lacy asked me as we sat on the rug, along with most of everyone else, "You know how bad it's gotten. This isn't even school anymore. This is abusive torture."

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah. But we can't do much about it. Baldi has complete control over us while we're here."

"What teacher has the right mindset to do these things?!" Ava burst out, despite Alex trying to keep her calm, "Does he literally want us to be afraid of him?"

"Some people see that as a form of power." Sammy replied from where he worked on a robot he was trying to construct.

Brandon huffed, "What kinda stupid thing are you making now?"

Sammy crossed his arms and lifted his head proudly, "This happens to be a loving robot that enjoys hugging people. According to my observations, we could use a bit of that around here."

"Lame..." Clayton muttered.

Evelyn snapped back at him, "Stop teasing him. He's trying to help!"

The room grew silent. No one knew what to say or how to really continue the conversation. We were afraid. Afraid of Baldi and the possibilities of what he could do to us. I looked over at Alyssa, who was playing with a doll in the corner of the room. I could still see the dried tears that stained her little cheeks. I frowned at that. Cho sat alone as well, creating sock puppets for reasons none of us knew. He was still creepily silent, never saying a word.

"I'm going to get a soda from the vending machine." I announced, standing up and pulling a quarter out of my pocket, "Be right back."

I left the room, walking down the quiet hallways. The only thing I heard for a moment was the whistling of the Principal as he left his office to head home. Miss Austin and Baldi were the only ones that lived in the school, along with us students.

When I made it to the vending machine, I was about to slip my quarter in the slot when I heard familiar voices coming down the hallway. Curiosity overtook me, as it usually did, so I followed the sound of the voices, slowly trying to stay hidden so as not to be seen. I eventually came across the hallway the voices were in. I stayed hidden behind a corner and peeked around just enough so I could also see what was happening. There in the hallway stood Baldi with Miss Austin. I made sure to stay quiet as a mouse while I listened.

"Are you still going forward with your plan?" Miss Austin spoke, lower than she usually did.

"Don't I always?" Baldi asked rhetorically, crossing his arms.

Miss Austin sighed and shook her head, "You know I don't like this. From the start, I always objected. And you know why."

"Of course I know why. You had the worst experience. But you fail to see the big picture! The goal we're trying to accomplish is important to-"

"I know what it's 'important' to, Baldimore." Miss Austin interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose, "But I think Shaneton makes this situation seem bigger than it needs to be."

"I'm not doing anything wrong, Renee. This is my job. Part of me enjoys it!"

"They're just children, Baldimore!" Miss Austin burst out, seeming exasperated, "It's so hard to watch from the sidelines as my co-worker frightens these kids." Baldi's eyes narrowed slightly, as if her words hurt him. He heaved a sigh,

"It's been a long time since you've referred to me as simply a co-worker."

"Well it's about time I did, then." Miss Austin told him under her breath as she crossed her arms. The two looked at each other for a good few seconds, not saying a word, until Miss Austin stated before walking away, "Good day, _Professor_."

I immediately retreated back to my room, not even getting the soda. Everyone noticed the surprised look on my face. They asked what was wrong, but not even I knew. It was all too confusing.


	9. Chapter 8: On Fire

"N-No... Please, Professor Baldi, I didn't mean it!" I cried, my tears blinding my vision. Another week had passed. Another torturous week of getting wrong answers and being punished brutally for it. Baldi grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and dragged me into the hall. He slammed me back into the walls before smacking me across the face with his ruler.

"Let that be a lesson to you!" He bellowed, "There are no failures in my class!"

I sobbed, shielding my face and trembling. I could feel Baldi's cold stare as he looked down at me. "Stop it!" I screamed, "Don't hit me again!"

"You have no right to command me." Baldi hissed. He grabbed me again, bringing me to the janitor closet. He held my jaw tightly in his grasp, forcing me to look at him before explaining with a twisted grin on his face, "I know how much Miss Austin helps you after my classes. Now, thanks to your behavior, final hour has been permanently cancelled. You'll never be in her class again." With that, he threw me into the dark closet, locking it from the outside. I was trapped.

Standing up quickly, I began twisting and pulling on the doorknob. Nothing would budge. I began banging on the door, shouting and crying for help, but no one could hear me through the thick, metal door. Sliding down to the floor, I began to sob, letting the hot tears roll down my cheeks. My face still stung where Baldi had hit me with the ruler.

"I want my f-family..." I cried out loud, afraid and angry. Why did my parents send me away? Why couldn't I go home? What was wrong with my teacher?! I could only cry while huddled in the dark corner, hoping and praying that someone would come.

My eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness. My tears slowed down, but they were still there. I sat near Mr. Jared's green and white broom. I leaned against it, closing my eyes. There was nothing else to do. I could only think of my family... and Evelyn. The darkness made me think of her blindness. How did she go about living in darkness every day of her life? It made me wonder, and during those thoughts, I began to hum "Down By the Bay". It lifted my spirits slightly, so I continued.

When I believed to have been trapped in the closet for an entire hour, I heard the sound of keys and a doorknob begin to turn. The metal door slowly opened, letting the light shine through. It was nearly blinding to me, but when I looked, Mr. Jared was standing there with all of my classmates.

"Y-You came..." I croaked out, sniffling.

"Josiah!" Evelyn whispered, running up to me for a hug. I quickly made out little marks on her hands. It appeared that Baldi had hit her too. It made me want to cry again. Mr. Jared approached us, offering me a hand to stand up. Evelyn took hold of the other one.

"We were all getting worried about you, Sport." Lacy told me once I approached their group, "Baldi wouldn't tell us anything."

"We were so scared!" Alyssa squealed, clutching onto a little teddy bear.

"T-Thanks." I nodded, still a little shaken up, "Why don't we go to my room?"

Everyone agreed, so we went. The hallway lights were dimmer than usual, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I just wanted the fear pounding in my chest to leave.

...

"So what happened?" Clayton asked once we were in my room. We all sat around on the rug together. Alyssa sat on Alex's lap.

"Baldi gave me another jumbled math problem..." I moaned, rubbing my eyes.

"I got those once." Evelyn admitted, "That's why he hit my hands. The braille was all messed up!"

"I haven't gotten them." Brandon shrugged, "But I still get chased down the halls if I get a problem wrong."

"I heard about the final hour being cancelled..." Alex mumbled, hanging his head.

"Please don't blame me!" I cried, "I tried to answer the problems right. Honest!"

"Hey, we believe you." Lacy replied immediately after, placing a hand on my shoulder, "No need to get worked up."

"She's right!" Sammy agreed, "Stress is very bad for your health."

"Ugggh..." Ava growled, crossing her arms, "I hate this place... Baldi doesn't even scare me at this point. I want to punch him in the face!"

"Whoa whoa, sis!" Alex protested, "Don't be such a hothead right now. We need to make good decisions here. Baldi could just get worse!"

"I don't freaking care!" Ava stood up, "I was afraid from the start. I'm done! We should all just run away from this place. Baldi deserves to be fired!"

The minute she finished her sentence, we watched Ava's hands burst into flames that danced along her skin.

She shrieked, "What the heck, put it out! Put it out!" Her screaming made the flames die down and disappear within her. With widened eyes she admitted, "Okay, now I'm afraid again."

"What even was that?!" Alex nearly shouted, putting Alyssa aside as he too stood up. We all did.

"M-My hands literally went on fire!" Ava screamed, shaking.

"Is Baldi some sorta creepy person with a haunted school?!" Clayton burst out. Our thoughts began spiraling into fear and confusion.

"Everyone, calm down!" Lacy shouted over our voices, "We should all go to our own rooms and wait till morning. We can see what happens then."

"You're not gonna just do something about this?!" Ava asked in disbelief.

"Unless you want me to tell Baldi, what can I do? I don't know where Miss Austin is."

I agreed with Lacy, although I didn't say so out loud. It was getting late, and we were all tired. I was in the janitor closet a lot longer than I anticipated.

"I agree with Josiah." Evelyn stated, startling me.

"I... I didn't say anything..." I told her with furrowed brows.

She shook her head, "No, you said that you agreed with Lacy. And I agree with you."

I didn't know what to say to that. Maybe I was going crazy. Maybe I was overtired. I drowned out the rest of the conversations as everyone dissipated into their own rooms. The days were getting creepier and creepier...


	10. Chapter 9: Our Gifts

_My surroundings were dark, like a sheet covering my eyes to deprive all light. I clawed in front of me, trying to rip away what was blinding my vision, if there even was anything. Swishing sounds and indistinct voices met my ears, disturbing the peace I tried to hold within me._

 _"Josiah..." A ghostly voice echoed. Startled, I turned sharply towards it. There stood my mother in the black void that began to change into the halls of the school. I approached her slowly, unsure if it really was her. It looked like her, yet she wore a strange, unknowing smile on her face._

 _"Mom!" I breathed out in relief, running up to her. Immediately, she knelt down to envelope me in her arms. "Have you come to take me home?" I asked with hope, "This place is horrible. I want to leave!"_

 _She gave me a sympathetic and sorry smile, shaking her head and replying, "No, sweetheart. You need to stay here! It's wonderful. You learn so much. You grow and change." Her voice trailed off as she stared, and it appeared as if her mind became its own void._

 _"W-Why?" I asked, clearly hurt by her unwillingness to get me out of the school, "Why can't I come home?"_

 _With an inhumanly echoed voice, she replied, "Oh Josiah... this is your home. Your special home because you are gifted."_

I gasped for air and sat up in my bed, clutching the sheets that were damp from my cold sweat. It was just a dream. Only a dream. I looked over at the clock on my nightstand, seeing that the time was only 5:45 AM. I rubbed my eyes and heaved a sigh, knowing I would not be able to go back to sleep. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I dressed myself in my school uniform and left the room, trying to be as quiet as a mouse. My mind had spiraled into so many thoughts and emotions, I couldn't even keep my own hands from shaking.

No one was in the halls to spot me, much to my liking. Baldi was nowhere in sight as far as I knew. I dared not to peek into the classrooms to check. The only one I did enter was the room where Miss Austin taught final hour. My mind calmed to see her standing there, packing some books into a cardboard box. She turned to see me, looking quite surprised.

"Well now, what you doing up?" She asked, "Classes don't start for a few more hours."

I shrugged, looking down at the floor. I replied in a low tone, "I... I just had a difficult night. I needed to go somewhere... safe. Kinda."

She gave me a sympathetic look, offering a seat at a desk as she sat beside me.

"Tell me what's bothering you." She spoke gently, "Maybe I can help."

"Well... you know. Baldi. He hurts us. All of us. And scares us, too! There's no way for us to leave and go home until summer, and on top of that, things are just... weird. It's hard to explain, you wouldn't even believe me if I told you."

"I... know what you're going through, Josiah." Miss Austin placed a hand on my shoulder, "If anyone in this school heard me tell you this, that would be the end of me, but I'm done with all this secrecy. Hidden truths. It's time that you know the purpose of this school. The School of the Gifted is not for children who possess great knowledge for their age. That is the excuse made to Shaneton when the child is picked to be a student here. In this town, as very few who live here know, a child is born every so often with an unexpected spontaneous alter to their DNA. After every birth, the doctors are made to check the infant's DNA, and if an alter is found, it tells them that the child will be gifted, and when they receive that gift. It is different for every person, and not everyone is a gifted, but the gifts are supernatural. Beyond the imagination! One may have the ability to shift nature around them, another may even defy the laws of gravity. The School of the Gifted are for the children with supernatural gifts."

"But..." I began, entirely confused and shocked, "What is Baldi's purpose? Why are we even sent here?"

"The world, not even Shaneton, accepts those who are so drastically different. The school is made to keep the gift contained within the child until it is shriveled. It never grows and flourishes into what it was meant to be. If the gift is contained until adulthood, it will never emerge. It will die. That is Baldi's purpose here. He knows that fear is what keeps the gifts from growing, so he induces it. Makes it worse until your gift is destroyed. You will never know that you had it, that a piece of you died. Each and every one of you here has a gift. A tremendous gift, and it is up to you to discover what that gift is. This school has conformed to the society that Mayor Perl created."

My breath hitched. I could barely answer back, "Y-You're saying... my dad started this...?"

It took a moment for Miss Austin to replied, but she eventually nodded and said, "Yes. He did."

Tears welled up in my eyes. "No..." I whispered, "No! I don't believe you! This is crazy, something out of a movie. I have, like, super powers or something?!"

"Josiah, please listen to me. Don't let Baldi make you feel afraid. Let yourself discover the true strength within you. There is no time for sentimentality." I looked at her, and I could see the sincereness. She continued, "I promise, what I'm saying is true. I have taught here at this school for years, and I was once a student here. But my gift was destroyed. Baldimore... he confirmed to all of this. But I know his gift for perceiving all sounds began to flourish when he was a student before it shriveled. I still believe it is somewhat there. He can be turned... I keep telling myself that. Show him. Show him that what he is doing is wrong! I cannot do it by myself. My only job for the rest of the year is to grade papers and turn them in to the board... Please, tell your friends. Let them know of their gifts. Don't let Baldi make you afraid. End this monstrosity of a school."


	11. Chapter 10: Apprehension

I sat in the classroom with my fellow classmates as we waited for Baldi to enter the room and begin final hour. I fidgeted with my teeth-marked pencil, attempting to calm the tremendous amount of beating my heart was doing. Despite what Miss Austin had told me earlier in the morning, I couldn't gather up the courage to tell everyone else like she wanted. I was silent, keeping all my insecurities inside, along with everything else. Even Evelyn picked up on my silence, but she didn't get me to talk either. Still, I almost believed she somewhat knew what was on my mind.

So there I was, staring at the checkered flooring as I tapped my pencil on the top of my light wooden desk.

"We can't be afraid..." I mumbled under my breath, just loud enough for most of the students to hear.

"What's that?" Clayton asked, uncrossing his arms.

"We can't be afraid... of Baldi." I spoke, louder this time, "Miss Austin told me that this morning. She said that we each have a supernatural gift, and Baldi is keeping us from gaining that by making us afraid every day."

Brandon scoffed, "Shut up, you're just being weird."

"I'm serious! Miss Austin was, too. Why else do you think Ava's hands lit on fire yesterday?"

"He has a point there." Ava spoke up as she looked down at her own two hands.

"So what are you saying?" Lacy wondered, "Not being afraid of Baldi is easier said than done."

I groaned, "I know, but we have to try! I want to know what these gifts are... if they're real." I didn't want to sound strange, but I believed they were.

As if on cue, Baldi entered the room, his expression stiff and stern. He glanced at me as he passed, giving me a knowing look as if he knew what I had been talking about. The entire classroom grew quiet as he passed out the notebooks. We began the class. My entire problems were jumbled and indistinct. I was frustrated as I put down random answers, knowing that a punishment was underway. I felt the hour pass, and I was already on the verge of tears by the end, trying to fight off worry and fear but failing.

One by one, I watched as each of the students went up to Baldi's desk to have their papers graded, and each one of them was hit on the hand with the ruler. Being the last one left alone in the room with Baldi, I trembled as I left my desk. His expression showed anger and other emotions I could not define.

"You disappoint me." He hissed, slamming his fists down on my "F" graded papers, "I've taught you for weeks now, and still you do not grasp the simplest of math problems!" He stood up, leaning forward, "It's like the Principal is always telling you... when. will. you. learn?!"

I darted out of the room, defying Baldi's commands. I heard him shout after me, but I kept going. I turned down the halls, refusing to stop for anything. My legs burned, along with my lungs. Baldi continued to chase after me, catching up to speed the longer I ran.

"Hey kid, where you going so fast?" Mr. Jared asked me as I ran into him. He could see the sheer horror on my face.

"S-Stop just let me go!" I yelled, taking him aback by my outburst. I had no time to stop. I headed for the exit and pushed on the door. Locked. All the exists were locked. I tried each one as I ran through the school. None of them would budge.

"N-No..." I muttered under my breath; the adrenaline of being chased made me feel numb. Baldi smacked his ruler against his hand as he caught up to me. I continued to turn corners, trying to avert the teacher elsewhere. It didn't work. I was cornered. Trapped. I hit a dead end.

Baldi grabbed me, hitting me multiple times with the ruler. My hands flinched up, trying to shield myself from the pain. I wanted to be brave, to stop crying and being afraid. Even as Baldi pulled me up with his face ridden in anger. My hands were shaky and cold. I tried to tell myself, "be strong!" I really tried. My mind strained to take control of my overwhelming emotions. Baldi continued to talk down to me, but the tears blurred my vision and my brain was too scattered to pay attention to any of it.

I tried to make fear go away. It blanketed my entire spirit. The thought of a supernatural gift coming to life within me only worsened the feeling. I wanted to fight off Baldi with it, but what even was the gift? Would it hurt? I didn't know what to expect. The fear of the unknown gripped me until I broke down in tears. Even Baldi seemed shocked. I wasn't just afraid. I seemed mentally destroyed. He knelt down in front of me, staring directly into my soul.

He growled, "I hear every door you open, so keep running. There is nowhere for you to hide." He stood up to leave, abandoning my trembling figure that was curled up in the corner. I had tried the make the fear dissipate. None of it worked. The unknown worried me, along with my seemingly powerful gift I didn't know about.

In that moment, it was then that I realized I was becoming afraid of my own self...


	12. Chapter 11: Little Girl Lost

"Josiah!"

The sound of Lacy calling my name snapped me out of my swirling thoughts as I still sat in the dead end corner of the hallway. I wiped my eyes before she found me, and I was sure to stand up. When Lacy found where I was, I could see that her expression was embedded in deep worry and confusion.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, my voice still a bit shaky.

"It's Alyssa." She told me in an urgent tone, "None of us can find her!"

My brows furrowed, "Have you checked everywhere?"

"Yes, everyone's been looking in places she would be! I'm pretty sure the whole school has been covered. I'm really worried. What if Baldi did something to her?"

"I hope not... Did anyone check the pool room?"

Lacy looked flushed, "Oh dear God, no..." We darted for the pool room, running inside. Our echoed footsteps were all that we heard. Looking into the pool, there was no sign of any floating six-year-old girl body.

"Did you check the janitor closet?" I asked as we left.

"Mr. Jared already did that." Lacy moaned, "He said she wasn't there. I even checked it myself afterwards!"

I huffed, feeling stumped. There was nothing we could do but roam through the halls and rooms, calling her name. We were afraid that Baldi would run into us during our search, but after an entire hour of no luck, we were desperate and didn't care about our teacher anymore.

By the time all of us students met up in a hall together to share our disputes on where Alyssa could be, worry was all we felt. Even to those who I didn't expect to really care, including Cho. He still didn't say a word, but he had a sock puppet on his hand, which Evelyn said that he hoped to use to lure little Alyssa out of wherever she was hiding.

"We need to find Miss Austin." Alex demanded, "She'll help us. She always does!"

"We've already been to her classroom, dummy." Brandon retorted, "She wasn't there."

"But she lives here!" Evelyn added, raising her voice a bit, "She had to be down in that hallway where the teachers' rooms are. I know we're not allowed to go in there, but this is an emergency!"

"Okay..." I agreed, "We'll go. We have no other options."

Off we went, down the hallways and in directions we rarely ever explored. Making sure the Principal didn't see us to correct us and say "no going in those halls.", we tried to be swift. The rooms eventually came in sight, and we found the one with Miss Austin's name on it, knocking on the door immediately after. We heard rustling and footsteps behind the door before it opened.

"What are you all doing here?" Miss Austin asked with surprise after she opened the door, "You know you're not allowed down here, so there better be a good explanation for this."

"There is!" I spoke up before anyone else could, finally regaining my confidence, "Alyssa's missing. We can't find her anywhere!"

Miss Austin's face paled as she quickly let us into her room. She placed a hand over her heart, and I could see the panic as it struck her. Her reaction slightly surprised me.

"How long have you been looking for her?" She finally asked us.

"Over an hour." Ava admitted with a worried countenance, "No one's seen or heard from her. We had nowhere else left to look but here."

Miss Austin sat down in a nearby chair, looking exasperated. "Well we need to find her!" She exclaimed, "Who knows where she could be right now?!"

"Not many places..." Clayton moaned, "Uh... don't worry too much about it. I'm sure we'll come across her soon."

Miss Austin pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to suppress surfacing emotions. I could tell.

Evelyn slowly felt her surroundings, meandering to where Miss Austin sat. With compassion, Evelyn hugged the young teacher, muttering, "It's okay. I know you're worried. But we'll find her." It might have been the light, but I could have sworn I saw tears in Miss Austin's eyes.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Miss Austin breathed out, hugging Evelyn back.

I opened my mouth, ready to speak and suggest what to do next in finding Alyssa. What interrupted me was the sound of the door slamming open with Baldi standing at the entrance. Miss Austin stood up with a start, and us students froze in place, compelled to immediate silence. Baldi's eyes darted right at Miss Austin. If looks could kill, he had one plastered on his face. Raising a long, slender finger, he pointed at Miss Austin.

" _You_." He hissed, his voice dripping like venom, "You told them."


	13. Chapter 12: The Fight Begins

I froze. My blood ran cold. Baldi looked as if he wanted to murder Miss Austin. She just stiffened and stated, "Of course I did."

"Why?!" He hissed as he marched up to her, "Do you realize what this does to Shaneton? What it does to me?!"

"These children do not deserve the torment you feed them! They have gifts. Beautiful gifts. I find it a great sin to keep it locked up inside them!"

"You forget—"

"No _you_ forget! You forget what it was like to be a child! To have freedom, to have happiness! You don't even realize what you're doing!"

Baldi's teeth clenched in utter anger as he struck Miss Austin across the face, knocking her over.

"No!" I shouted, feeling enraged at the sight. The lights flickered around us as Baldi's face paled. The room spun and life itself seemed to slow down for a few seconds until I regained my bearings.

"You..." He growled, pointing a devilish look at me. He began running to where my figure stood before he disappeared, along with our surroundings.

Us students and Miss Austin found ourselves in the room for final hour.

"H-How..." Alex began, unable to even finish his own sentence.

"I did it..." Lacy admitted sheepishly, "I-It's my gift... I discovered it last night. I can teleport myself and others short distances. But... it makes me feel weak." She heaved a sigh and sat down at one of the desks.

"We don't have much time." Miss Austin told us firmly as she stood in the midst of us all, "It will only be a short while before Baldimore finds where we are. And when he does find you, because believe me, he will, do not hesitate to fight back. He wants you to be afraid. He wants to vanquish your precious gifts. Don't let him. Be strong and courageous. Fight against him. That way you'll win, and at last get out of here. The truth must be revealed to all of Shaneton."

"I looked inside his head." Evelyn spoke up, unintentionally admitting her newfound gift, "You're right, Miss Austin. He is afraid. Of us and our powers. And he plans on, in his worded thoughts... terminating us before sunrise." We all grew tense and afraid. Even Cho's eyes were wide with fear.

"Children..." Miss Austin soothed as she gathered us all around her, "I wish there was a way I could stop him. He is much stronger than I. But together, you can light the spark that will make the flames grow and bring him and his pride down. There's only one shot and a few hours till sunrise. The sun has already set."

"We need to go, before he corners us in here!" Clayton shouted, taking a strange step in leadership I had never seen him take.

"I agree." I said, finding my own courage, "We'll scatter down the hallways. But we can't just leave the school. We need to defeat him so he can't hurt anymore kids again." I then turned to Miss Austin, "And we'll also find Alyssa." Miss Austin gave me a tearful smile before we all ran out down the hallways in a group. None of us were ready to split up yet. It was time to discover what each of our gifts were, for those of us who had not learned them yet.

We hid in the farthest hallway corner we could find, trying to be silent and listen for if Baldi came near. I dug deep inside myself, searching for something special and different. Nothing would show. I looked around everyone else's concentrated looks. Ava had flames calmly dancing along her fingertips. This time, she was not afraid of them.

"Any luck, bro?" She asked Alex, who at last let out a burst of ice crystals from his hands.

"Fire and ice." Brandon chuckled under his breath, "Ironic." I thought again, harder this time, yet it only made the lights flicker. I grew frustrated.

Then, in the midst of our silence, we heard a sound. A smacking sound in the distance, and it drew nearer. It was Baldi. He ruler was in hand. He was coming for us...


	14. Chapter 13: Run, Don't Look Back

"We need to go. Now." Lacy demanded, her tone low. I nodded violently and stood up, holding Evelyn's hand to guide her with me. Our entire group ran in the opposite direction from where we believed Baldi was approaching. I could imagine the devilish look on his face and the burning will he possessed to beat us with his ruler and lock us away.

"Don't think those things." Evelyn whimpered from beside me as we ran, "I scares me..."

"Well stop reading my mind, then." I gently scolded, my breathing shaky.

The sound of our teacher approaching only drew nearer.

"Good gosh, our group can't move fast enough!" Clayton muttered in a whisper as our heartbeats quickened.

"Um, we can split up!" Alex blurted out, "Half of us go one way, and the other half goes somewhere else."

"Let's go then. We don't have much time!" I answered. And so our group split up, going down different hallways. I stayed with Evelyn, Lacy, Brandon and Sammy. The rest went elsewhere.

"All we need to do is avoid Baldi long enough for us all to discover our gifts." Lacy told us as we meandered down hallway after hallway, the adrenaline disorienting us.

"Heck yeah." Brandon surprisingly chuckled, "Then we can team up on him. He'll wish he never crossed our path!"

I kept Evelyn close to me. "What's Baldi thinking?" I asked her.

"I dunno..." She replied, "It's hard to read minds so far away."

I breathed out in relief, "Good, he's far away then! Let's keep going, guys. We're succeeding so far."

The lights in the hallways flickered. Sudden silence swept over us as our running pace quickened. We were all on edge.

"I'm coming." A strange robotic voice startled us all. Evelyn shrieked. We turned to see a box-like robot, the exact robot Sammy had been working on that one day, come rolling down the hallway.

"Oops." Sammy muttered, "I guess I left my robot on."

The robot cornered us, enveloping us in a crushing hug. We all were taken aback.

"No no no, we don't need this!" Lacy said in annoyance, pushing the robot away, "Sammy, I'm sorry but this thing doesn't help at all. Now let's go!" We ran. We were worried. There were no exit signs in sight. No doors to escape through. Just empty hallways with flickering lights. I let my thoughts scramble. I wanted our gifts to show. We needed to stop Baldi, so we couldn't leave even if we wanted to. But the thought in itself was still terrifying.

"No running in the halls!" A bellowing voice startled us all. There the Principal stood suddenly beside us. He grabbed a hold of Sammy's arm. As he was dragged away, Sammy screamed, also telling us to go ahead of him. Although we did so, it was hard. Sammy was taken. Would his punishment be worse than before? I felt Evelyn trembling as she grabbed onto my hand. I looked to see her running through her pouring tears. Her lower lip trembled as she tried not to cry out loud.

"Don't look back." Lacy told me sternly as we ran, "Keep running but don't look back. Just stop it, we need to find Baldi." I was already losing stamina fast. My heart and lungs burned. Every unpleasant emotion I had ever felt made an appearance.

As we turned a corner, there Baldi stood. His eyes seemed to glow like fire as pure hatred could be seen plain on his face. At the sight of us, he began to chase us.

"He wants to kill us!" Evelyn shouted as her voice cracked. We were terrified.

"Did you have to read his mind?!" Brandon asked Evelyn in fear and anger, but we ignored him. There was no time for arguments of any sort. We had to run. We weren't strong enough to fight back yet.

Despite my disoriented mind, when I saw the other group up ahead, I shouted, "Baldi's coming! Run!" They scrambled away as Lacy, Brandon, Evelyn and I caught up to them.

"Where's Sammy?" Ava demanded.

"They took him!" Evelyn cried. Breath in. Breath out. We ran. Hearts pounding. Adrenaline rushing, fear rising. I couldn't take the fear anymore. It felt as though it would kill me from the inside out. We each were living a nightmare.

"Guys... I can't run anymore." Alex exhaled. We were far enough from Baldi to pause for a second.

"We don't have enough time!" Ava told him, tugging fiercely on his arm.

"We're doomed. We didn't even find Alyssa!"

"No, we can't give up!" I told him, "We each need to discover our gift. We're running out of time with each second that passes."

"That's it..." Lacy muttered, grasping our attention.

"What's it?" Brandon wondered, furrowing his brows.

Lacy exhaled deeply, as if dreading her own response, "I... I can slow time around us, as well as teleport. I control the passing of time and help us to vibrate at different frequencies. If I slow time around us, you can all get away long enough to discover your gifts."

"But..." I began slowly, "You said earlier that teleporting drains a lot of your energy. Slowing time for this long would... it would..."

Lacy gave me a sad smile.


End file.
